IDF soldier killed, 3 hurt, in Hezbollah drone attack near newly seized Beaufort Castle

An Israeli soldier was killed and three others were injured in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon early Monday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the fatality, Staff Sgt. Adam Tzarfati, 20, from the Commando Brigade’s Maglan Unit. The attack occurred around 1 a.m. in Yohmor, near the historic Beaufort Castle, which Israeli troops had taken control of the previous day.

A first-person-view drone, laden with explosives and launched by Hezbollah, struck a site where Israeli troops were operating. Tzarfati was killed instantly, and another soldier sustained serious injuries. Two other soldiers suffered minor wounds. The injured soldiers were airlifted to a hospital, and their families were notified.

This incident follows a pattern of escalating attacks from Lebanon. Hezbollah has been employing first-person-view drones, which are difficult to jam, alongside rockets and other unmanned aerial vehicles targeting both military and civilian sites. Since a porous ceasefire began on April 16, thirteen IDF soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed by Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon. The IDF claims to have killed over 900 Hezbollah operatives during the same period.

Hezbollah has continued its regular attacks on northern Israel and troops in Lebanon, frequently targeting border communities like Kiryat Shmona and cities such as Safed and Karmiel, which had not been attacked in over a month. Rocket sirens sounded in Tiberias for the first time in nearly two months shortly after midnight Sunday-Monday. The IDF reported striking the launcher used for those rockets within minutes.

In response to the ongoing attacks, schools in many border communities remain closed, and the Nature and Parks Authority has shut down several northern sites. The IDF is expanding its ground offensive in southern Lebanon and conducting widespread airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, including in the city of Tyre. On Sunday, the IDF reissued a wide-scale evacuation warning for all of southern Lebanon, emphasizing the risks to anyone near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, or weapons.